“You just hope you get the right horses and a little bit of luck. With so many top drivers, you know it’s not easy to win.”
From January 1, 2014 through to April 30, 2014, Alfie Carroll was the leading driver at The Raceway at Western Fair, piling up 87 wins in 408 starts as well as winning just over $400,000 in purse money. Alfie is currently ranked 6th in driving wins at Flamboro Downs (Hamilton, ON) with 38 wins in 210 starts from January 1, 2014 through May 11, 2014.
“Last year I had a decent year and it’s been a good start to the year for me. It would be nice to be successful.” says Alfie.
“It was three or four years ago when I started to feel confident in my driving, with each year getting better and better,” Alfie continues. “I started driving in 2005, but before that I groomed and trained. My dad (Richard Carroll) had a farm with 60 stalls and I did the maintenance. We sold it three years ago and moved to London, Ont. so we don’t have that farm anymore but that’s what I was doing when I first started driving.”
If you were to look up the definition of humble, you would certainly see a picture of Alfie and/or his name being recognized as synonymous with someone who is humble and down to earth.
“It is guys like Trevor Henry who have been at the top and were always humble; those are the guys I always looked up to aside from my parents (Richard and Mary Carroll)” Alfie states.
Alfie, who is about to turn 29, admits he’s more of the shy type of person and the reason he doesn’t like to draw attention to himself is due to the fact Alfie understands one moment you can be at the top and in a matter of moments you can be knocked off the top. “I started at the bottom and grinded my way to the top, I am not sure how long I will stay here” says Alfie. “I know what it’s like to be at the bottom and I appreciate the success this year, but in two months I can be right back at the bottom.”
The choice of words Alfie used seemed rather ear-catching and asking if he was a fan, Alfie confirmed he’s a Drake fan and the songs that Alfie feels best reflect his current state of mind would be two hit songs by Drake, ‘Started from the Bottom’ and ‘Headlines’.
Alfie appreciates Drake’s success, given that Drake is Canadian and has made such a mark on the music and entertainment scene that only a select few can brag about. Alfie admits he’s hummed Drake’s hit song ‘Started from the Bottom’ while at the track, but with a chuckle says he’s never hummed any song when driving. No doubt, I am certain there are a dozen or more aspects to racing that deserves Alfie’s attention when he’s in a race.
For all the attention Alfie is receiving due to his current success, as much as he appreciates the attention he recognizes that there are plenty of deserving horsemen and women who deserve a chance and the opportunity to make a name for themselves, all they need is the right horse. “It does get frustrating when things aren’t going so well and no one recognizes you. There are plenty of people who need one horse to show how good they are.” says Alfie.
There were a few times Alfie was ready to throw in the towel and walk away from the sport of harness racing. “There were a ton of times I was ready to quit, I had jobs lined up and that was the end of it.” Alfie confirms. “Before I started driving I thought I was going to be a mechanic...then I drove a bulldozer for a week, I was just helping the guy out for a week but I could have gone into excavation.
“Some days I would get mad and need to cool off, the next day I would go to the barn with the horses...and then I would forget about the rest and go back to driving.” Alfie says.
It's great Alfie kept on with his dream and it was late last year when Alfie first connected with trainer Victor Puddy. “He had a horse in the seven hole and it was the first horse I’ve ever driven for him.” Alfie says, “Luckily we got to the front and won and it snowballed into being able to drive for his stable. Luckily that horse got to the front...he was the best that day.”
According to Alfie a lot of people consider him to be a conservative driver, someone who drives off the pace. “A lot of races are won from the back, but it goes by the horse and whether it likes to lead, if it does then that’s what I do. It all depends on the horse.”
There are a lot of people Alfie thanks for helping him along the way, especially Ray Farmer and Vic Puddy, as well as his parents and his sister Angie.
Away from the track Alfie has his own way of grounding himself and that’s going out into woods.
“When I have time I like to deer hunt and bow hunt. I’ve been doing it since I was a kid; my dad got me into it. It’s fun to have bragging rights and it’s nice to get away from the seriousness of it all.”
Alfie does have a man cave in the basement of his home. Aside from his big screen TV, Alfie keeps all his hunting gear stored in the man cave and it’s in the same room Alfie practices using his hunting bow.
On May 3, Alfie was involved in a racing accident at Flamboro Downs leaving Alfie sidelined to date. Expect Alfie to be back to his winning ways once he is back in the sulky. We hope to see you soon Alfie!
(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Rod Balgobin)